Geordi LaForge

Notes

An only child2, Geordi LaForge had a rather unsettled early life; both his parents were in Starfleet, his father an exozoologist and his mother a command officer. He would later recall that he was constantly on the move during his childhood, often living with only one parent. He lived with his father whilst he made a study of invertebrates in the Modean system, and later with his mother on an outpost near the Romulan border.2

It was only natural that LaForge would enter Starfleet himself, which he did as soon as he was eligible.3During his early career he was a pilot on an interplanetary shuttle in the Sol system; it was while here that he first met Captain Picard. Picard would later recall making some offhand comment that a shuttle's engine efficiency was not all that it should be, only to later find that the pilot had spent the whole night refitting the fusion initiators. Picard decided that this was somebody he wanted on his crew, and had Geordi transferred shortly after his appointment as Enterprise-D Captain.4

Geordi has been blind from birth5, but was able to see better than most due to his Visual Input Sensory Organ Replacement - the VISOR. This device scanned a wide range of electromagnetic frequencies and other phenomena and converted it into electrical inputs which it transmitted into Geordi's brain via two small interface devices. The VISOR provided Geordi with the ability to see a large range of phenomena with incredible detail and accuracy,6but it caused him constant pain all the time he used it.1

In 2370 Geordi's visor was partially responsible for the loss of the Enterprise-D. Dr. Tolian Soran planted a miniaturised camera and transmitter in the device, allowing his accomplices Lursa and B'Etor to discover the ships shield window frequencies by viewing Engineering control panels and so penetrate the shields.7Geordi apparently became somewhat disillusioned with the device after this incident, for in 2371 he had his VISOR replaced by a more advanced system comprising Ocular implants - a pair of artificial eyes which replaced his own damaged pair. Like the VISOR, the implants were capable of scanning across a large range of frequencies to give Geordi a unique view of the world.8

After the loss of the Enterprise-D Geordi, along with most of the senior crew, transferred to the Enterprise-E. He served on that ship during its fight against the Borg invasion of Sector 0018, and later was part of the mission which revealed the Federation-Starfleet plot to displace the Ba'ku people from their home world. While he was on the Ba'ku home world the regenerative properties of the planets rings caused his eyes to re-grow, giving him normal vision for only the second time in his life.#2008}

Geordi continued to serve aboard the Enterprise-E during its mission to meet with the new Romulan Praetor, Shinzon, after his rise to power. He survived the battle with the Scimitar and subsequently took charge of the refit of the Enterprise-E.9

Geordi's mother, Silva, took command of the USS Hera in 2369. Unfortunately the ship vanished without trace in the following year and was declared lost.2